I’m turning 50 in exactly one month.

It made me start thinking about all of those sentences that start with “If only” and “I should have.”  Which made me realize that I can still do all of those things.  It’s the second half of my life!

I also saw the re-run of Sex in the City in which Carrie bemoans the fact that she, as a single woman who has never had children, has been to dozens if not hundreds of wedding & baby showers, and dutifully purchased the gifts for which the recipients had registered.  She, however, never got a shower, so never got to register.  (She “registers” for a single pair of shoes with a price tag higher than my monthly food budget.)

I realized this applies to me.  I’ve never been married or had children either and, likewise, have bought a bazillion gifts from a bazillion registries.  As a WASP, I never had a bat mitvah, and my family didn’t throw me a high school graduation party, although my parents did buy me a set of luggage.  I took the hint, packed it, and moved out forthwith.

So I’m going to “register” for my 50^th birthday.

At 49, I don’t need china or linens and, although I’d love a nice set of stemware, there’s nowhere to put them.  So I probably won’t be able to register at one of the traditional venues (although I was pleased to see that Target has a registry – good for every budget).

Instead, I think I’ll make a web page and recruit my sister as the contact person to keep track of what’s been purchased and what’s still outstanding.  And I’m going to choose some really unconventional stuff. So far, I’ve only decided on four things:

1. A big, honkin’ party
2. Sky diving
3. Bunny slippers
4. This hair straightening thingie I saw on an infomercial. Apparently, you just hold it anywhere near your head and voila! You look like a super model.

For today’s contest, I am giving away a copy of The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance and a signed copy of Kerrelyn Sparks’ All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire.  Enter a comment telling me what you think I ought to put on my gift list, and I’ll pick a name at random to win.

The winner of last week’s contest for 5 signed romance novels is Tracy Deluca!  Tracy, email me using this link and send me your mailing address.